Insatiable Critic
Collected here are current Insatiable Critic columns and articles that have appeared in New York Magazine over the years going back to 1998, plus a few vintage favorites. (Eventually I hope to scan more.) Many of the restaurants I loved or skewered or had high hopes for are gone. Restaurants land with a splash and evolve or fade away, not necessarily because they can’t find a following. Sometimes it’s a feud between owners, bad chemistry in the kitchen, a chef on his own with no business sense, a divorce, or a landlord issue. These older reviews, roundups and Ask Gaels columns are here for nostalgia or visitors in search of history.
Hot Topics
Big City Almond
With its clamorous warmth, its eclectic American menu and reasonable prices, Almond is a haven for these nervous times… …
10 Downing At Last
Slow-pokey delays dulled expectations. That’s why food so carefully cooked and jumping with flavor in an early tasting is a …
I Did It My Vai
Yes, it’s dark in here but once we solve the menu hurdle, dinner by votives in the shadows seems almost …
Compass Gyrations
In yet another premature mid-life crisis, Compass has redesigned itself for the third time and emerged looking good with a …
The Most Important Restaurants in Forty Years
What are the dozen (or so) most important restaurants of the past forty years?. Before the reality of space requirements …
Socarrat Paella Bar
This could be the best paella I can remember. It is lushly rich in socarrat–the marvelously crusty rice I’m scraping …
Yerba Buena Beckons
I’ll brave the street’s remnants of grunge for serious cocktails and reasonably priced, fabulous Latino food by partner Julian Medina …
Sheridan Square Redux
Chef Franklin Becker inherited a dysfunctional work in progress when Gary Robins vanished…Becker has already tightened ship and put his …
Nouvelle Delicatessen
The crowd skews young and pretty at this lively new comfort food initiative from the folks at Cafeteria. And what …
Tasting Convivio
Michael White wasn’t happy with less than raves…so he and partner Chris Cannon bolted the door for two weeks and …
Matsugen Does Noodles
Clearly, as landlord and partner, Jean-Georges Vongerichten is betting our town’s noodleheads will be moved by the esoteric noodling of …
Hundred Acres/No Mule
There is no mule tethered out front. Beyond that, Marc Meyer and Vicki Freeman have gone all out to evoke …
Wildwood Barbeque
Faux smoke and applied grime above the raucous 50 foot bar, and a bold mix of rustic with industrial want …
Benoit Inc.
Ducasse’s unabashed need to be embraced by New York has a real chance for fulfillment at Benoit once he whips …
Padre Figlio
I’m transported to Sicily again as I swirl my fork in Gino’s classic bucatini con sarde – sardines, fennel, caramelized …
Tet/Letter from Home
Tet is the most ambitious effort yet from Steven Duong who won neighborhood hearts when he opened Nam in Tribeca …
La Rural On the Grill
An Argentine bistro named for the livestock show in Buenos Aires, looks a lot like its predecessor, Pampa. Same imported …
Madeleine Mae Recoup
Notoriously fussy Upper West Siders did not hesitate to chew out star chef Jonathan Waxman’s uneven Southern Creole efforts early …
New Deal at Commerce
If splendid food comes first, we’ll write off the painful din and just shower this historic landmark spot with raves… …
Mia Dona Twice
Expect standing room only at Mia Dona, given Donatella Arpaia’s East Side groupies… the impassioned fooderati fans of chef Michael …
South Gate Reflections
Jumeirah Essex House has found a skilled veteran in chef Kerry Heffernan, now turning out his signature gougères and savory …
Smokin’Q
I couldn’t wait to check out Smokin’ Q, wrenched from the embers of a failed kosher steakhouse …
Brooklyn Fiore
Teodora’s patron realized he didn’t want to run a trattoria below his own duplex so he persuaded chef Roberto Aita …
1968 Orsini’s
When I want to feel appreciated, I go to Orsini’s. “Bella signorina,” the captain greets me with unabashed joy…You could …
Second Avenue Deli: Shy of a Renaissance
…puckering up over sour pickles and biting into a very good pastrami and tongue sandwich brings back a cherished old …
Chop Suey View
Fatty Crab’s impresario Zak Pelaccio fine-tunes his pan-Asian riff overlooking Times Square’s neon rat-a-tat… …
Dovetail Designs
If there is cachet in having an entrance even the average Mensa candidate can’t find, the new Dovetail has it …
Crave on 42nd
Tonight we crave comfort and we’re soothed with a decent anchovied Caesar, a good enough burger… …
The Smith’s Good Grub
The joint is jumping and we have to lean in to talk and repeat everything twice for our movie star …
Shelly’s Tradizionale at Sea
A stunning still life of lobster Catalana, wreathed in raw vegetables and fruit, is wowing even carnivores who once came …
Devi’s Revival
Power to the people at Devi means the team that created its brilliant and refined tasting menu is back, having …
Irving Mill Scores
What’s new and exciting is chef-partner John Schaefer’s delicious food on a trim but tempting market menu: The citric, preserved-lemon …
Reality at Pamplona
Now chef/owner Alex Urena…gives New Yorkers Spanish classics that are easy to love …
Toloache Bistro
An earnest Mexican bistro yearning for the bigtime…Chef Julian Medina’s menu skips around Mexico… …
Fiamma Makeover
Snatched from his…cocoon at the Ritz Carlton in Tyson’s Corners, new chef-Partner Fabio Trabocchi delivers complex dazzle… …
Accademia di Vino
I don’t want to jinx this jinxed restaurant address by rashly optimistic judgments but Accademia di Vino could well be …
Southern Hospitality
I suspect you Justin Timberlake fans (plus the guys who follow you anywhere) will be hoping to spot your crush …
l’Impero’s New Era
In Manhattan’s spring shuffle of three star toques, Fiamma’s Michael White is now king…his new menu reflects the dazzling sunniness …
Surfing Oceana
The energy and élan of Chef Pollinger’s stinging nettle and sorrel soup poured over a delicate yogurt panna cotta, and …
Park Avenue Summer
No surprise at all that…it feels so summery…tall reeds and grasses dividing the room…the chef’s seersucker tunic …
Aurora Soho
A glance at the menu reveals the grand ambition of Aurora SoHo: Summer truffles indeed …
Provence in Bloom
With its new wardrobe of sunny Provencal prints and the magical vernal blooming of its sheltered garden, Provence at the …
Prime Burger Café
Updating Old Homestead’s sidewalk seating with a nip and a tuck to pass it off as the new Prime Burger …
Landmarc at Time Warner
I’m betting that the food at Landmarc in the Time Warner building never has to be one jot better than …
Tree
“It’s a real find,” our producer friend Dasha promises, inviting us to discover the no-airs bistro Tree in the East …
Spotlight Live
Spotlight Live is braced for flocks of free-spending fame freaks, wannabe American Idols and karaoke fans hungry for fame, popcorn …
Wild Salmon
The embattled Jeffrey Chodorow seems tame at a friend’s tasting at Wild Salmon—his fourth new restaurant since December and his …
Wild Edibles
Quiet as an octopus scooting along the ocean bottom, Wild Edibles stuffed a mini eat-at counter and eight two-top tables …
Anthos
Anthos, Greek for blossom, is the stage for chef-partner Michael Psilakis’s obsessive dream…an homage to his mom’s rustic home cooking, …
Hawaiian Tropic Zone
Clearly, this lonely guy’s fantasyland is the consummate place for dinner to keep our guys happy that Sunday night of …
Fireside
Fans of Sam DeMarco’s comfort food at the restaurant First, and later District, will want to know he’s back from …
Agata & Valentina Ristorante
Good grub, not inexpensive but almost reasonable, soul food for the Italian families at tables around us …
Hurapan Kitchen
I love this beautifully presented Thai food by father-and-son team Taweewat and Dejthana Hurapan …
Le Binge
Gobbling along with a group of French professional gourmands on a three-day eat-a-thon that proves New York’s gastronomical superiority …
Kobe Club
So unloved Mix, twice unhappily revised, reemerges as Kobe Club, and the kitchen is already impressive …
Klee Brasserie
Marinate an Austrian in the culture of New York eating for a while, and don’t be surprised if he comes …
Gordon Ramsay at the London
Most everything else is a work-in-progress …
The Russian Tea Room
A serious chef reigns in the kitchen of the optimistically resurrected Russian Tea Room …
Metro Marché
Metro Marché is a courageous gambit in a corner of the Port Authority bus station, turning out amazingly good brasserie …
Porter House New York
The menu is a pledge of allegiance to American steakhouse familiars-some of them sensational …
Yerba Buena Beckons
I’ll brave the street’s remnants of grunge for serious cocktails and reasonably priced, fabulous Latino food by partner Julian Medina …
Worth Dining For
Chef John Tesar tries out his reasonably priced downtown fusion on an uptown crowd …
Wildwood Barbeque
Faux smoke and applied grime above the raucous 50 foot bar, and a bold mix of rustic with industrial want …
Wild Salmon
The embattled Jeffrey Chodorow seems tame at a friend’s tasting at Wild Salmon—his fourth new restaurant since December and his …
Wild Edibles
Quiet as an octopus scooting along the ocean bottom, Wild Edibles stuffed a mini eat-at counter and eight two-top tables …
Where to Eat in the Millennium
In the event of computer dementia, we may be eating chops seared on a wood-burning barbecue by candlelight for a …
List
Big City Almond
With its clamorous warmth, its eclectic American menu and reasonable prices, Almond is a haven for these nervous times… …
10 Downing At Last
Slow-pokey delays dulled expectations. That’s why food so carefully cooked and jumping with flavor in an early tasting is a …
I Did It My Vai
Yes, it’s dark in here but once we solve the menu hurdle, dinner by votives in the shadows seems almost …
Compass Gyrations
In yet another premature mid-life crisis, Compass has redesigned itself for the third time and emerged looking good with a …
The Most Important Restaurants in Forty Years
What are the dozen (or so) most important restaurants of the past forty years?. Before the reality of space requirements …
Recommended
Big City Almond
With its clamorous warmth, its eclectic American menu and reasonable prices, Almond is a haven for these nervous times… …
10 Downing At Last
Slow-pokey delays dulled expectations. That’s why food so carefully cooked and jumping with flavor in an early tasting is a …
I Did It My Vai
Yes, it’s dark in here but once we solve the menu hurdle, dinner by votives in the shadows seems almost …
Compass Gyrations
In yet another premature mid-life crisis, Compass has redesigned itself for the third time and emerged looking good with a …
The Most Important Restaurants in Forty Years
What are the dozen (or so) most important restaurants of the past forty years?. Before the reality of space requirements …
Socarrat Paella Bar
This could be the best paella I can remember. It is lushly rich in socarrat–the marvelously crusty rice I’m scraping …
